Preparation

Heat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease an 8-by-4-inch or 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray with flour (like Baker’s Joy or Pam Baking Spray). Or you can spray it with regular cooking spray and lightly dust pan with flour.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and brown sugar until light and slightly fluffy. Add eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla; stir to combine.

In a small bowl, beat together cream cheese, remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla and sugar. Fold it into the batter just a few times so there are streaks of cream cheese throughout.

Make the oat streusel: Add all ingredients except the powdered sugar into a small bowl and mix with your fingers until a clumpy, cohesive, streusel-texture mix forms.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Top with a few pieces of chopped plums and blackberries, if desired. Top it evenly with the oat streusel.

Bake for 1 hour (this could be less if you use a 9-by-5-inch pan) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly, cover with a tent of foil.

Remove pan from oven and set it on a rack. Cool bread for 15 minutes in the pan, then carefully remove it from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Stephanie is a former newspaper reporter and self-taught baker who lives in the Twin Cities. As her blog title Girl Versus Dough suggests, Stephanie loves baking bread. And cookies. (And just about everything else.) She enjoys working with her hands, which is a great thing for all her friends and family who get the goodies that come out of her kitchen. Check out her TK recipe box! We’re sure you’ll see something you’ll want to make.

Whether it’s in the hospital caring for patients or in her kitchen whipping up meals, it’s evident that nourishing people is Terri's true calling. She's lived all over the United States, from east to west, and even in a few other countries. You should ask her about her experiences (like that time she ended up skiing into Robert Redford). But more importantly, you should try her recipes. Visit her blog That’s Some Good Cookin’ and you’ll know what we mean.